Grassroots.org News Update: 7.30.10

Don’t miss the technology and nonprofit news that everyone’s buzzing about. From the super-useful to the sort of weird, we round up the week’s most-re-tweeted stories every Friday.

Want these updates in real time? Follow us on Twitter.

You may want to check your nonprofit's last newsletter to make sure you're not guilty of these common mistakes (via Pamela Grow).

Yikes! One hundred million Facebook pages leaked on torrent site. Read about it here (via THINQ.co.uk).

Apply for a semester of free consulting with MBA students from the University of Maryland through Grassroots' Social Venture Consulting program. Tomorrow is the final day to apply!

Mark your calendars! Net Squared tells us where to find upcoming Do-Gooder Tech Events across the country!

Unsure of who to follow on Twitter (other than Grassroots.org of course)? NonprofitOrgs has released a list of 29 extremely follow-worthy bloggers!

July Member of the Month | Shakespeare's Sister

Our July Member of the Month recently launched their new site to better reflect their mission, with help from Grassroots.org Volunteer, Laura Moore of Smallest Decisions. As “a grassroots all-female nonprofit theater company”, Shakespeare’s Sister addresses global issues through productions and embraces social change serving the low-income populations within communities. Their commitment to unite actresses and female directors to produce great new plays and established theatrical works is displayed in their newly created site layout.

Previously a participant of our Faces of Change video series, Artistic Director Kris Lundberg worked with Laura to design something that spotlights their events and engages the community. In addition to professional productions, they have launched an arts advocacy campaign in taking the arts to the shelters. The organization’s Women's Theater Workshop has already had a high success rate in women's shelters. It's focus is to take the skills these women already have and innately possess, strengthen their voices and prepare them for their permanent housing interviews and re-entry into the workforce. Also, their Children's Puppetry Workshop teaches underserved children the elements of story structure through characters they create in the stories they write. Check out more on their brand-new website!

New Data Management Tool in the Toolbox!

Grassroots.org is excited to introduce the new Data Management tool from Surgical Grade Software offered for free to members! It is in the Grassroots.org Toolbox and ready for use.

What is the Data Management Tool?

The Data Mangement tool allows your organization to share company data with your team and access it online from any PC. Search, sort, filter, print, or export your data as needed into a wide range of formats.

Downloadable with a one-click install, you can customize the application and configure it for your needs. Import your existing data from text or Excel files and make your client contact info, spreadsheets and more accessible online. The software runs under Microsoft Windows™ and stores data in a SQL Server database. You can set up a database through your Grassroots.org hosting account.

Getting Started

If you are a Grassroots.org member then you can simply login to your Toolbox and click on the Data Management icon.

If you are not yet a Grassroots.org member please Apply Now!.

Check out our Help Site for a tutorial on installing and modifying the tool here.

For more detailed information on the service, visit this page.

Want to help Grassroots.org keep our services free? Donate Now!

Grassroots.org News Update: 7.23.10

Don’t miss the technology and nonprofit news that everyone’s buzzing about. From the super-useful to the sort of weird, we round up the week’s most-re-tweeted stories every Friday.

Want these updates in real time? Follow us on Twitter.

Nonprofit Tech 2.0 recommends 10 great content ideas for your nonprofit's blog!

When nonprofits examine their Facebook activities, it's important to be clear about goals and expectations. Check out more crucial steps from Pamela Grow's grantwriting blog.

Apply for a semester of free consulting with MBA students from the University of Maryland through Grassroots' Social Venture Consulting program. Applications accepted until July 31.

Wild Woman Fundraisingreports on how to gain influence with donors (it's by telling them "I like you!").

Volunteering can help you to gain new skills and meet new people. Find out more about how being a volunteer can help you score your dream job from Idealist.org.

Tool of the Week | Thrive from Small Act

If you've ever felt the need for a social media tool specific to nonprofits, this week's review on Thrive offers a solution and reveals why nonprofits have different social media goals and needs.

As always, our list of web development best practices grows with each new tool we discover! Check the archives for our previous reviews.

What kind of tool is Thrive?
As a “one-stop shop that simplifies, organizes and measures your social media efforts," Thrive manages your social networks while attracting supporters and donors to your cause.

Created by Small Act, a company dedicated to helping nonprofits "make a big impact in social media," Thrive’s user-friendly hub streamlines your efforts. Similar to other tools, you control when you Tweet or update your status on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube (other networks coming soon), target and engage those who care about your work and receive stats on all accounts.

Small Act understands that social media should be about engaging your followers, fans and friends, and that cultivating these authentic relationships helps recruit donors and advocates. That's why Thrive boasts features that sets it apart from other social media tools. With it, you can engage and understand your fan base by viewing entire conversation histories while checking for complete contact and demographic information.

How has Grassroots.org used Thrive?
You may have noticed our latest Tweets or Facebook updates being “sent from Thrive”. We’ve been using it to update our own social media networks and checking how many of you actually click our links! Don’t worry, we only check these stats and browse for relevant nonprofit news to understand how to best deliver useful content to you.

All this is possible through Thrive, but we especially love the ability to tag and write notes about our contacts based on our interactions with them. Doing this recently helped us locate new nonprofits and technology experts!

How should my nonprofit use Thrive?
Geared towards nonprofits, Thrive features granular scheduling, keyword search capability, contact management with tagging and in-depth reporting. What does all this mean?

Use Thrive to help you schedule posts and check all incoming messages, replies, mentions simultaneously. Keep an eye on who is posting what and read the latest #nptech or “education” Tweets. Pinpoint your superfans or donors by organizing your contacts list and tagging them. And with Thrive, there’s no excuse to not know how many people your posts reach every week.

How can my nonprofit sign up for Thrive?
Tell SmallAct about your current social media situation for a free trial of Thrive. Complete this form to start making your big impact in social media. While you're there, sign up for a free demo of the tool in action!